New to reloading - what powders to look for?

[Steve M]

Lee Modern Reloader 2nd edition it the best, most comprehensive reloading book out there!!!!

Hogwash. The Lee manual is ok bathroom reading, but keep it out of the reloading room.

Lee 2nd told me that 5.0gr of SR-4756 under a 125gr bullet in a 357 would give me 1034FPS. Actual measured velocity in 60F weather was 606FPS from a 4.5" barreled Blackhawk. On the other hand Hornady 4th said that 6.4gr with a 158gr bullet would give me 1050FPS, I measured 1080 FPS. Since purchasing the Lee book I have found that most of its more reliable data can be found for free on the websites of the powder manufacturers, especially Hodgdon. Lee doesn't tell you what barrel length was used nor the brand of brass, bullet, or primer. We know from the NRA Handloading book published in 1986 that substitutions of these three components from what the load was developed for can cause such a significant difference in pressure that a starting level load can also be the maximum pressure load.